Two people have died and six others were injured after a car crash on the Capital Beltway in Fairfax County, Virginia, on Thursday night.
Two people have died, and six others were injured after a car crash on the Capital Beltway in Fairfax County, Virginia, on Christmas.
Virginia State Police are investigating a two-vehicle crash that happened on Interstate 495 around 10:40 p.m. on Thursday.
In an email, a VSP spokesperson said six people were inside of a Toyota Sienna minivan when it collided with a Dodge Ram pickup truck with two passengers inside.
Two passengers inside the minivan, a 75-year old woman and a 15-year-old, were taken to a local hospital where they later succumbed to their injuries and died, according to police.
The two passengers in the pickup truck were also transported to the hospital. Police did not give details on their conditions.
Officials believe the crash happened in the main lanes of I-495. The minivan was found in the eastbound express lanes and the truck was found in the main lanes.
The crashes remain under investigation, and no further details have been released at this time.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the time of the crash.
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The passenger of a car has died after the car he was in struck a Fairfax County, Virginia, ambulance that was on its way to an emergency.
The passenger of a car has died after the vehicle they were in struck a Fairfax County, Virginia, ambulance that was on its way to an emergency.
It happened Tuesday afternoon at Worldgate Drive and Alton Square in Herndon.
A Fairfax County ambulance with its “full emergency equipment activated” was trying to turn onto Alton Square, but the driver of a 2007 Hyundai failed to yield and struck the ambulance, according to news release from police.
The car’s passenger, 35-year-old Irvin Escobar Lujuan, of Sterling, was taken to the hospital where he later died. The driver, 23-year-old Jose Lopez Martinez, of Nokesville, was also hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Speeding and alcohol appear to be factors in the crash, police said.
Lopez Martinez has been charged with driving while intoxicated.
Two firefighters were also taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
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“It’s an empty house,” said 22-year-old Daniel Díaz, as he fought back tears.
Daniel and his brother, 20-year-old Adam, lived with their parents Francisco Díaz and Beatriz Núñez along with their two little sisters, 15-year-old Paola and 10-year-old Nataly.
On any given day, Francisco was busy working on cars, while Beatriz prepared food. On the car rides to school, Paola and Nataly joyfully sang along to Peso Pluma, a popular Mexican singer and musician.
It was a simple life, one that brought a smile to the face of Daniel and Adam as they recalled the car ride karaoke.
But the smiles quickly disappeared as they recalled the worst memory of their lives, which took place just hours before they sat down with Denver7.
Daniel said he received an SOS notification on his iPhone, which said that his sister Nataly was involved in a crash.
“I ran out as quick as I can,” said Daniel. “I kept trying to call my father, my mother and my sisters, but they weren’t answering.”
Aaron Brown
Daniel and Adam Diaz sat down with Denver7’s Sam Peña, after their family was killed in a crash in Thornton.
On Saturday night, Daniel and Adam’s parents were on a grocery run to Walmart, with Paola and Nataly in the backseat. According to the Thornton Police Department, they were involved in a crash around 7:30 p.m. at the intersection of Thornton Parkway and Washington Street. Police said the family’s vehicle caught fire, killing all four inside.
When Daniel and Adam arrived at the scene, they saw the flames and quickly realized the worst.
“I was able to see my dad on the driver’s seat,” Adam said. “Once I saw he was there and he wasn’t moving, that’s kind of when I knew.”
Adam said the trauma is still fresh and he’s unsure how to move forward.
“We feel lost. We don’t even know what’s the next step,” he said.
The brothers were building a granite business with their father. Adam said working alongside his father led to some of his fondest memories.
Before Francisco’s passing, Adam said his father taught him how to paint. The father and son had recently finished painting the wheels on Adam’s car, which he will now cherish forever.
“I still have those wheels and I’ll always remember him,” Adam said.
After they completed their work, the brothers said they could always rely on their mother to have food waiting for them at home. Even if they returned home late, Núñez would still wait up for them.
“Every night, she was just waiting for me to get home,” Daniel said. “She’s not gonna wait for me anymore.”
The brothers said their long-term goal was to make enough money to buy a house for their parents.
“Now, I don’t even know what we’re going to do,” said Daniel.
If you’d like to help Adam and Daniel, their family has set up a GoFundMe page. They’re hoping to raise $30,000 to provide the brothers with financial stability and emotional support.
The cause of the crash is under investigation. Police did not release additional details.
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Police in Richmond are investigating a horrific crash in a stolen car early Monday morning that left a 14-year-old girl dead and her 11-year-old sister in critical condition, authorities said.
Authorities provided details about the deadly collision Tuesday evening in a Facebook post. According to the post, on Monday morning at 5:17 a.m., Richmond police dispatch received an automated traffic collision alert from two separate Apple iPhones that indicated the phone owners had been in a serious collision on the 600 block of Canal Blvd.
Arriving officers found a Infinity G35 that sustained heavy damage resting in the northbound lanes of Canal Blvd. Police also located one occupant, a 14-year-old female, who had been ejected from the vehicle and suffered fatal injuries.
Officers also located another vehicle occupant, an 11-year-old female, who suffered from major injuries. That victim was transported to an area hospital where she remains in critical condition. Officers later determined the two young female crash victims were siblings. Police also determined the Infinity had been reported stolen to the San Pablo Police Department on two days before on Saturday, October 12.
Evidence indicated the vehicle was traveling northbound on Canal Blvd. at a high rate of speed when it exited the roadway and struck two trees and a pole. Police investigation determined that immediately after the collision, two 15-year-old male occupants of the vehicle fled the area. One was later found at an area hospital as he sought treatment for injuries. The other male was located at a residence in Richmond later Monday evening.
Police said that the occupants of the vehicle provided conflicting statements regarding the crash and who was driving at the time of the collision. Police are following up on additional leads, including DNA evidence, to determine who was driving during the crash.
“We are saddened by this senseless tragedy that has resulted in the loss of such a young life,” the post read. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family and the remaining victim who remains hospitalized.”
Anyone with information regarding the collision is asked to contact Richmond police.
Dave Pehling is website managing editor for CBS Bay Area. He started his journalism career doing freelance writing about music in the late 1990s, eventually working as a web writer, editor and producer for KTVU.com in 2003. He began his role with CBS Bay Area in 2015.
AITKIN COUNTY, Minn. — Two people are dead and three juveniles and two other people are critically injured after a car crash on Highway 169.
Four vehicles were involved in the crash: a Chevrolet Suburban pulling a trailer, a GMC Yukon, a Jeep and a Dodge Ram pulling a trailer.
According to an incident report, the Suburban was travelling eastbound pulling a trailer on County Road 3 when it failed to stop at the stop sign for Highway 169. Meanwhile, the Yukon was travelling north on Highway 169 when it struck the eastbound Suburban, causing severe damage.
The Jeep and the Dodge Ram, which was also pulling a trailer, were facing westbound and waiting when they were also struck by the Yukon, causing moderate damage.
Two passengers in the Suburban, Elizabeth Baldwin, 61, and Marlo Baldwin, 92, died in the accident. The driver, Roger Walker, 61, suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of the accident.
Three of the passengers and the driver of the Yukon suffered life-threatening injuries. The three gravely injured passengers in are 18, 14 and 11 years old.
This is a developing story. Check back on WCCO.com later for more details.
One person is dead and several people are injured after a stolen 18-wheeler crashed into a Texas Department of Public Safety building in a town 75 miles west of Houston on Friday. At a news conference, officials said a suspect is in custody.
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A Navy officer who had been jailed in Japan over a car crash that killed two Japanese citizens was released from U.S. custody on Friday, one month after he was returned to the United States and placed in a federal prison, his family said.
Lt. Ridge Alkonis was ordered released by the U.S. Parole Commission, according to the Justice Department and a family statement that described the extra detention in a Los Angeles detention facility as “unnecessary.” In total, he spent 537 days locked up either in Japan or the U.S.
“He is now back home with his family, where he belongs. We will have more to say in time, but for now, we are focused on welcoming Ridge home and respectfully ask for privacy,” the statement said. Alkonis’s family is from Southern California.
FILE – Derek and Suzi Alkonis pose with a photo of their son, Lt. Ridge Alkonis, on June 1, 2022, in Dana Point, Calif.
Denis Poroy / AP
The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed in a separate statement that he had been released.
Alkonis was released from Japanese custody last month while serving a three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to the negligent driving deaths of a woman and her son-in-law in May 2021.
Alkonis’ family has said the crash was an accident that was caused when he lost consciousness while on a trip to Mount Fuji. Japanese prosecutors maintained that he fell asleep while drowsy and shirked a duty to pull over as he became fatigued.
“But he wasn’t tired,” Alkonis’ wife, Brittany Alkonis, told CBS News in a July 2022 interview. “He was fine and alert. He had even noticed that I was at risk of getting car sick and told me to be careful.”
Neither the Japanese police nor the U.S. Navy conducted a full medical exam during the 26 days he was in detention before he was charged.
“I’m really angry,” Brittany said in her interview. “We’ve been told that this is the most egregious action against a service member in 60 years.”
He was transferred in December into the custody of the Bureau of Prisons through a Justice Department program that permits the relocation of prisoners convicted in another country back to their home nation. The program stipulates that the sentence cannot be longer than the one imposed by the foreign government.
His family said no prison time was appropriate and protested the detention in Los Angeles.
The Parole Commission, which determines the release dates in the case of returning Americans, said that it had concluded that Alkonis was lawfully convicted in Japan of negligent driving causing death or injury and that the conviction was most similar in the U.S. criminal code to involuntary manslaughter.
But though U.S. sentencing guidelines recommended that a sentence of ten to 16 months be served if Alkonis had been convicted of the same crime in the U.S., the Parole Commission also determined that the amount of time he had already been jailed would have exceeded the applicable guideline range.
“Thus, as of January 12, 2024, the Commission ordered that he be immediately released from custody based on the time he had already served,” the Parole Commission said in a statement.
A Vermont driver accused of causing a crash that killed actor Treat Williams has been charged with grossly negligent operation causing death, officials said.
An investigation of the June 12 crash in Dorset concluded a vehicle pulled in front of Williams, who was riding a motorcycle and was unable to avoid a collision, Vermont State Police said Tuesday.
Ryan Koss
Vermont State Police
The driver who was cited, Ryan Koss, 35, of Dorset, was processed on the charge Tuesday evening and released ahead of a September 25 arraignment, state police said. A court official couldn’t say whether Koss had a lawyer, and Koss didn’t immediately return an email message seeking comment.
Williams, 71, of Manchester Center, was pronounced dead at Albany Medical Center in New York. The Medical Examiner’s Office in New York determined that Williams died of severe trauma and blood loss as a result of the crash.
Koss was trying to turn left into a parking lot when he turned into the path of the 1986 Honda VT700c motorcycle operated by Williams, police said.
“Williams was unable to avoid a collision and was thrown from his motorcycle,” authorities said after the crash.
Koss, who was wearing a seat belt, suffered minor injuries in the crash, and his 2008 Honda Element incurred “major damage to front end passenger side,” police said.
Richard Treat Williams’ nearly 50-year career included starring roles in the TV series “Everwood” and the movie “Hair.” He appeared in more than 120 TV and film roles, including the movies “The Eagle Has Landed,” “Prince of the City” and “Once Upon a Time in America.”
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The five young women who were killed when an allegedly speeding SUV struck their car Friday night in Minneapolis were remembered as “shining stars of hope.”
They were identified as Sabiriin Ali, a 17-year-old who had just graduated from high school, and college students Sagal Hersi and Siham Adam, both 19; and Sahra Gesaade and Salma Abdikadir, both 20. The five were close friends who had been at a shopping center preparing for a wedding planned for Saturday, according to CBS News Minnesota. They were all pronounced dead at the scene.
From left, Sabiriin Ali, Sagal Hersi, Siham Adam, Sahra Gesaade and Salma Abdikadir
DAR AL FAROOQ CENTER/LaunchGood
The driver, identified as Derrick John Thompson, 27, initially fled the scene but was apprehended within an hour, Minneapolis Police Department spokesperson Adam Kennedy told HuffPost. He was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center for treatment and an evaluation. According to police, the SUV had been spotted by a state trooper while it was on the highway, but it exited, ran through a red light and broadsided the women’s car before the trooper could try to pull the driver over for speeding.
The SUV was traveling in excess of 95 mph when it was spotted by the trooper, Howie Padilla, the communications director for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, told HuffPost.
Thompson, the son of former Minnesota state Rep. John Thompson, was arrested Monday afternoon and booked into Hennepin County Jail. It is unclear whether he has an attorney. (John Thompson did not respond to requests for comment.)
Derrick Thompson has a history of driving-related offenses, and his driver’s license had previously been revoked, according to court records. It had just been reinstated on June 7, and he was released from prison earlier this year, according to KSTP-TV in St. Paul. Thompson had been convicted in a hit-and-run crash in Montecito, California, that left a woman in a coma, KEYT-TV in Sanata Barbara, California, reported. In that incident, he refused to stop for a police officer, hit a pedestrian and fled the scene. In his car, police found more than 17 pounds of cannabis and over $20,000 in cash. He pleaded guilty to felony charges and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
In the Minnesota crash, authorities are facing criticism for the leak of a surveillance video that shows the collision and the victims’ car being pushed out of the intersection.
“We do not know who shared the Metro Transit surveillance video to be posted online, but we will conduct an internal review along with Metro Transit PD to try to determine the source,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said in a statement shared with HuffPost. “I will also review and consider policy changes to limit how video of evidentiary value may be received from an outside agency by members of the MPD.
“This incident is senseless and incredibly tragic,” O’Hara said. “I personally responded to this horrific scene … . Our hearts break for the families and loved ones of these innocent, young victims who had their entire lives ahead of them. While the MPD has made an arrest in this case, our investigation continues relentlessly, so that we can ensure the strongest possible evidence is provided to prosecute this offender for his crimes to the fullest extent of the law. And the MPD will remain committed to providing support to the victims’ families throughout this process.”
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A car crash on Interstate 24 in Tennessee killed six young girls and injured two other people, officials said.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, emergency personnel responded to a car accident on I-24 West near mile marker 23 that resulted in a car being flipped upside down, causing “very extensive damage,” Robertson County Emergency Medical Services said in a statement.
Emergency personnel pronounced six girls dead at the scene. The girls were all found outside of the flipped vehicle after apparently being ejected in the accident, officials said. They “appeared to have ranged from 1-18 yrs of age,” RCEMS said.
An adult woman who investigators also believe was ejected from the car was found in critical condition. She was treated at the scene before being air-lifted to a local hospital, officials said.
The driver of the car, and adult male, was in stable condition with minor injuries, officials said. He was taken to a local hospital by ambulance, RCEMS said.
Emergency personnel also responded to the driver of another car located near the overturned car. RCEMS said he, “had no complaints of injury and was ambulatory on scene.”
Officials have not identified any of the victims and it was not immediately clear if any of them were related. The cause of the crash has not been released. The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
“Our office recognizes the incredible difficulty of this scene,” RCEMS said. “Please keep the families and persons involved in your thoughts and prayers.”
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A Canadian paramedic who unknowingly treated her own daughter after a fatal vehicle crash brushed away tears as she remembered a beautiful girl who fought until the end.
Jayme Erickson was called to the crash north of Calgary on Nov. 15 and sat with a seriously injured girl who was extricated from the car and taken to hospital, where she died. She was unrecognizable because of injuries.
It wasn’t until Erickson got home at the end of the day that she was met by Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, who told her the patient was her 17-year-old daughter, Montana.
Paramedic Jayme Erickson, center, who was called to a crash last week and didn’t know she was trying to save her own daughter because the injuries were too severe, is comforted by her husband Sean Erickson, as she speaks to the media in Airdrie, Alberta, Nov. 22, 2022.
Jeff McIntosh / AP
Erickson shared her grief with reporters late Tuesday, describing her daughter as a success at everything she set her mind to, an avid swimmer who had aspirations of becoming a lawyer.
“She was a fighter and she fought until the day that she died and she was beautiful. She was so beautiful. If she ever put an effort into anything she would always succeed at it,” said Erickson at an Airdrie firehall with family, paramedics, police officers and firefighters standing behind her in a show of support.
Richard Reed, a friend and flight paramedic, broke down a number of times as he recounted Erickson attending the scene where a car had lost control and was struck by an oncoming truck.
Reed said the driver was able to get out of the car but the female passenger was trapped with serious injuries. Erickson was the first person on the scene. He said Erickson knew the girl was in trouble and sat there until she was extricated and transported to hospital by air ambulance, still unaware of who it was.
“On her way back she expressed her grief and frustration to her partner, knowing that later a family would likely lose their daughter, sister and grandchild. A short time after arriving home, there was a knock on the door. It was the RCMP,” Reed said.
“On entering the room, to her horror, she found the girl that she had sat with in the back of the crumpled vehicle keeping alive, so the family could say goodbye, and due to the extent of her injuries was unrecognizable, was Jayme’s own daughter,” he added. “Jayme unknowingly was keeping her own daughter alive.”
“The critically injured patient I had just attended to, was my own flesh and blood,” she wrote. “My only child. My mini-me. My daughter, Montana. Her injures were so horrific I did not even recognize her.”
It is with a heavy heart and profound, unimaginable sadness that I must write this to inform my friends and family of…
“Today we officially said goodbye to my little girl,” she wrote. “I cannot help but be angry for the short amount of time I was given with her. 17 years was not long enough.”
